Abstract: We study a model based on the dihedral group D(4) in which the dark matter is stabilized by the interplay between a remnant Z(2) symmetry, of the same spontaneously broken non-abelian group, and an auxiliary Z(2)(f) introduced to eliminate unwanted couplings in the scalar potential. In the lepton sector the model is compatible with normal hierarchy only and predicts a vanishing reactor mixing angle, theta(13) = 0. Since m(nu 1) = 0, we also have a simple prediction for the effective mass in terms of the solar angle: vertical bar m(beta beta)vertical bar = vertical bar m(nu 2)vertical bar sin(2)theta circle dot similar to 10(-3) eV. There also exists a large portion of the model parameter space where the upper bounds on lepton flavor violating processes are not violated. We incorporate quarks in the same scheme finding that a description of the CKM mixing matrix is possible and that semileptonic K and D decays mediated by flavor changing neutral currents are under control.

Abstract: We study the process J/Psi -> gamma phi omega, measured by the BES experiment, where a neat peak close to the phi omega threshold is observed and is associated to a scalar meson resonance around 1800 MeV. We make the observation that a scalar resonance coupling to phi omega unavoidably couples strongly to K (K) over bar, but no trace of a peak is seen in the K (K) over bar spectrum of the J/Psi -> gamma K (K) over bar at this energy. This serves us to rule out the interpretation of the observed peak as a signal of a new resonance. After this is done, a thorough study is performed on the production of a pair of vector mesons and how its interaction leads necessarily to a peak in the J/Psi -> gamma phi omega reaction close to the phi omega threshold, due to the dynamical generation of the f(0)(1710) resonance by the vector-vector interaction. We then show that both the shape obtained for the phi omega mass distribution, as well as the strength are naturally reproduced by this mechanism. The work also explains why the phi omega peak is observed in the BES experiment and not in other reactions, like B-+/- -> K-+/-phi omega of Belle.

Abstract: We discuss the bounds on the cosmological lepton number from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), in light of recent evidences for a large value of the neutrino mixing angle theta(13), sin(2) theta(13) greater than or similar to 0.01 at 2 sigma. The largest asymmetries for electron and mu, tau neutrinos compatible with He-4 and H-2 primordial yields are computed versus the neutrino mass hierarchy and mixing angles. The flavour oscillation dynamics is traced till the beginning of BBN and neutrino distributions after decoupling are numerically computed. The latter contains in general, non-thermal distortion due to the onset of flavour oscillations driven by solar squared mass difference in the temperature range where neutrino scatterings become inefficient to enforce thermodynamical equilibrium. Depending on the value of theta(13), this translates into a larger value for the effective number of neutrinos, N-eff. Upper bounds on this parameter are discussed for both neutrino mass hierarchies. Values for N-eff which are large enough to be detectable by the Planck experiment are found only for the (presently disfavoured) range sin(2) theta(13) <= 0.01.

Abstract: We propose that neutrino masses are “seeded” by a dark sector within the inverse seesaw mechanism. This way we have a new, “hidden”, variant of the scotogenic scenario for radiative neutrino masses. We discuss both explicit and dynamical lepton number violation. In addition to invisible Higgs decays with majoron emission, we discuss in detail the pheneomenolgy of dark matter, as well as the novel features associated to charged lepton flavour violation, and neutrino physics.

Abstract: We study late-time cosmic accelerating dynamics from Born-Infeld-f(R) gravity in a simplified conformal approach. We find that a variety of cosmic effects such as Little Rip, Lambda CDM universe and dark energy cosmology with finite time future singularities may occur. Unlike the convenient Born-Infeld gravity where in the absence of matter only de Sitter expansion may emerge, apparently any FRW cosmology may be reconstructed from this conformal version of the Born-Infeld-f(R) theory. Despite the fact that the explicit form of f(R) is fixed by the conformal ansatz, the relation between the two metrics in this approach may be changed so as to bring out any desired FRW cosmology.